


The Bull of Nakamichi Alley (Or How I Got That Rad Tattoo While Traveling Abroad)

by A Melon Most Bitter (Darwise)



Category: HEARTBEAT (Video Game)
Genre: Crossover, Drinking & Talking, Family, Friendship, Gen, Yakuza
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:48:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25399435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darwise/pseuds/A%20Melon%20Most%20Bitter
Summary: It isn't too often that someone leaves a lasting impression on him, but Kiryu Kazuma knows a kindred spirit when he sees one. A Yakuza/HEARTBEAT crossover. Rated for language, some violence, and grown-up conversations.
Kudos: 6





	The Bull of Nakamichi Alley (Or How I Got That Rad Tattoo While Traveling Abroad)

The late night staff of the Poppo convenience store aren't exactly a group of people that Kiryu Kazuma would normally commit to memory. Most of them are either college students taking part time jobs for spending money, or full time middle-aged workers doing their best to make ends meet.

However, as he steps inside of the store today, he can't help but notice that one of the cashiers at the register doesn't seem to fit that particular mold.

The woman is clearly a foreigner, standing a head taller than the woman next to her, with blonde hair neatly tied back in an absurdly long braid that extends past her uniform shirt and ends at the waistband of her slacks. Her face is scrunched up in an unhappy frown, and it's obvious that she wishes to be anyplace other than where she is right now.

His eyes make contact with her brown ones, and like a magician placing a veil over a box, her sour countenance is instantly replaced by the winning smile of a model employee.

"Welcome to Poppo! How may I help you?"

She greets him enthusiastically in unaccented Japanese. He overcomes his initial surprise quickly enough to return the greeting with a polite nod.

"I'm just looking for now, thanks."

"Very well, please take your time!"

The exchange ends, and Kiryu takes a basket from the front of the store. He turns down the first aisle, stopping to grab a boxed lunch and three cans of beer.

As he looks through the magazine rack, a shifty looking man enters the store. The other cashier makes the greeting this time, but before she can finish, the man slams a small package on the counter, causing her to flinch.

"You guys sold me rotten food!" He shouts. The cashier bows repeatedly and apologizes, while the foreigner watches the proceedings curiously. The man launches into a lengthy tirade, berating both women at the counter for the perceived slight against him. Once he's finished, the foreigner offers him deep bow as her partner nervously retreats into the back room, leaving her to fend for herself.

"I apologize for the inconvenience sir; I would be happy to replace your meal with another one, if you'd like."

The man slams his hand on the counter again, causing several small display stands to fall over.

"Screw a replacement, I want a refund!"

"Well, I'll be happy to refund you the cost of your purchase, as long as you can provide a receipt."

The man pauses for a moment, like an actor trying to adjust to a script that's been altered at the last moment.

Kiryu rolls his eyes; he's seen this particular scam more than a few times before. A person buys a pre-packaged lunch that's just past the expiration date, then comes back later after eating half of the contents, to demand a refund. Most store owners don't challenge the claim, preferring to take a small loss over the threat of an angry customer spreading vicious rumors, but the foreigner seems content to do things by the book rather than acquiescing to his demands.

The man scowls, and thrusts the half-eaten meal into her face.

"I shouldn't need a receipt you stupid cow! Look at it yourself, this is clearly spoiled! I could've gotten sick!"

Kiryu slowly edges closer to the two, ready to break things up if the conflict gets too heated. From this distance he can see several discolored spots growing on a slice of meat in the pack. He must have held onto that lunch for some time in order to make the story more believable. The foreigner calmly takes the offending meal out of the man's hand, and gives it a thorough inspection. She places it back onto the counter between them and lets out a clearly irritated sigh.

"Sir..." She begins politely. "I'm sorry for your hardship, but I'm afraid that I can't refund this. We don't carry this brand here."

"Heh."

The man hears Kiryu's snort of laughter, and goes red in the face with embarrassment. Rather than give up, the man doubles down in an effort to save face.

"If you know what's good for you... you'll stop giving me lip and give me that damn refund!"

"...Are you freaking serious right now?"

Both Kiryu and the scammer look at the foreigner as if seeing her for the first time. The veneer of a pleasant cashier is gone; replaced by another far less polite (and far more irate) expression worn almost exclusively by disgruntled retail workers.

If Kiryu were to put a phrase to the look, he would best describe it as a _'I am not being paid enough for this shit'_ sort of look.

"Are you really so much of a deadbeat that you need to con stores out of eight hundred yen to break even?"

"Y-Y-You can't talk to me like that!" The man stammers. "I'm a customer!"

"No, you're just a pain in the ass. _He's_ a customer."

The foreigner points a finger towards Kiryu, and he takes that as his cue to bring his purchases up to the register. She begins ringing up his items as if the other man isn't even there.

"Thank you for your patience. Will that be all, sir?"

Before he can reply, the scammer starts throwing a tantrum.

"Hey, don't ignore me! I've got friends in high places!" His voice drops down to a threatening rumble as the corners of his lips tick upward into a deranged smile. "You'd better watch your back on the way home tonight!"

Neither he nor Kiryu see the foreigner's fist snap forward. The sound registers first, followed shortly by the scammer's startled scream.

"Gaaaaahhh!"

The scammer stumbles back and clutches the underside of his face. There's a steady trickle of blood falling out from the space between his fingers; most likely due to a split lip, if Kiryu had to guess.

"You... you hit me!" The man's words are muffled behind his hand. His tone is one of complete disbelief.

The foreigner looks as if she couldn't care less.

"Ice packs are in the fridge at the back." She replies dryly.

"You fu-"

"Now, are you going to buy something?"

She interrupts him, audibly cracking her neck to one side. The glare she levels at him is full of a malicious intent that reminds Kiryu all too much of several Yakuza Lieutenants that he's crossed paths with.

"...Or am I gonna have to ask you to leave?"

The scammer falters for a moment, then quickly finds his nerve as he pulls a box cutter from out of his pocket.

"I'll teach you to insult me like that!"

"Go ahead." The foreigner all but growls. " **I dare you.** "

"Hey."

Before the situation can escalate any further, Kiryu grabs the man by the arm and holds him in place. This has gone on for too long.

"Quit while you're ahead; You've already embarrassed yourself enough tonight."

"Urrgh! You...!"

The man's eyes dart between the two of them before he wrests his arm from out of Kiryu's grasp and takes off running down the street.

"Man..." The foreigner groans. "The things some people do to get over..."

Without missing a beat, she bags up his order.

"Thanks for waiting. That'll be one-thousand yen."

Her face is still tense, no doubt trying to stay professional despite being stressed. Kiryu mulls over whether or not to ask if she's okay, but decides against it. She's clearly a hot-headed type, and the last thing he wants is for her to vent her frustrations on him as well.

He makes sure to give her exact change. She counts it up with a curt nod, then politely hands him her bags. Her expression has shifted back into the same well practiced smile from before, though as she sends him off, her tone sounds just a little more genuine.

"Thank you, and have a good night sir."

"Yeah, you too."

As he exits the store, he spares one glance back inside. The other cashier has come from out of the backroom, and the two of them are talking about something. Neither one looks too distressed, which is all the excuse he needs to properly take his leave.

Kiryu eventually finds himself at one of the local parks. The vagrants that frequent the area are huddled together around a barrel fire, and pay him little mind as he sits down at an empty bench. Before he can begin his meal, his eyes are immediately drawn to the receipt tucked inside the grocery bag.

The total is for fourteen-hundred yen.

"...Heh!"

A amused smile plays across Kiryu's face as he notices the discrepancy. He pops open a can of beer to go with the meal, taking several bites and chasing it with a large swig. He sighs contently and closes his eyes, savoring the taste as he listens to the lively sounds of Kamurocho's nightlife.

"Nothing like free beer to cap off the night."

After a bit more thought, he decides that maybe he'll stop by the convenience store tomorrow as well.

Maybe see if he can find out where that foreigner learned to throw such a nasty jab while he's at it.


End file.
